Too low CPU usage with text client?

[garyboz]

I have a 1 Gig Duron with 256MB ram. I'm running the latest text client. Using Win98 SE.

My CPU usage is only around 20-40% even with 10 Netscape 6.2.1 windows open with the text client running. It is running, just slowly. Any idea what could be wrong? Can I force it to be a higher priority or something?

[garyboz]

Also, the screen saver version runs at 100% but I don't wan't to use that as I have problems when it tries to upload data.

[Jodie]

If you're using the machine, the client will do its darndest to get out of your way. If you're so much as web surfing, the client may well use near zero CPU.

That said - in the readme located at (you did read the readme, right?): http://www.distributedfolding.com/readmeclient.html

Changing the priority of the client
-----------------------------------
You can change the default priority of the client by modifying the foldit
script as described above for quiet mode and increasing the buffer size.
Simply add the switch '-p ##' where ## is the desired priority. This can
range from -20 (extremely aggressive; will pre-empt most other tasks) to
the default of 20 (very passive, only runs when the CPU is idle). On UNIX
the full range from -20 to 20 is available. Windows defines three process
priority levels: Low, Normal and High. Within each of these are several
thread priority levels which allow 'fine tuning'. Thus the same range
[-20, 20] is used On Windows and mapped accordingly. Use 15 for Low, 0
for Normal and -15 for High. Other values will more finely tune the
priority further.

[MAD-ness]

If your TOTAL resource utilization is in the high 90% range at all times, this is a pretty good indicator that the DF client is running properly. Of course, other apps can use all of the system resources as well, but the computer is sitting "idle" and still close to 100% utilization this likely indicates the client is running properly.

If have DF running and are using the computer at the same time and the total resource utilization is STILL only 15%, then something is amiss (I haven't used Resource Monitor in Win9x in a while, but even on faster computers and a 'clean' install, you are going to be ~10% utilization without any programs running, so using it and having it only use 15% is odd, IMO).

The distributed folding client does a very good job of running at the lowest priority, meaning that if any other program/thread/etc. requests resources from the OS, that other program/thread receives those resources. This is done so that you can run the DF client without slowing down normal computer usage.

I am not an expert, but maybe between the several different ways people have tried to explain this we can help you figure out your problem.